‘WE KNEW HE WOULDN’T WIN!’ Peter Munya Breaks Silence on Humiliating 28-Vote By-Election Disaster
PETER MUNYA has launched a fierce defense of the Party of National Unity (PNU) following a brutal electoral humiliation, claiming the party “never expected or sought victory” after securing a paltry 28 votes in a high-stakes parliamentary by-election.
The former Cabinet Secretary and PNU leader broke his silence on Wednesday night, August 5, following weeks of ruthless political mocking over the party’s disastrous showing in the Ol Kalou contest.
Official results from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) confirmed PNU candidate Edwin Kariiri Muchiri finished sixth out of nine candidates in the July 16 poll, garnering just 28 votes out of tens of thousands cast.
The seat was seized in a crushing landslide by Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) candidate Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru, who blew away the opposition with 35,440 votes. Samuel Muchina Nyagah of the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) trailed in a distant second with 5,450 votes.
‘We Couldn’t Stop His Dream’
Speaking in a fiery televised interview, Munya insisted the party intentionally took a back seat in Nyandarua County and treated the race as a low-stakes training ground for an aspiring politician.
“He came to our office, he pleaded that he needed to run because he is a young man who needs to get that experience—because we didn’t want to run anyone,” Munya declared.
“Because I also ran when I was a young man, I said we can’t stop the dream of this young man merely because we know he can’t win. We said let him get the experience; we knew he wouldn’t get many votes.”
Munya admitted the party intentionally withheld financial backing and campaign heavyweights, refusing to deploy senior party infrastructure to the constituency.
“You didn’t even see me campaigning for him there,” he added, framing the result as a deliberate act of youth mentorship rather than an electoral collapse.
Political Backlash in Central Kenya
The massive gap between the winning candidate and PNU’s 28 votes triggered immediate political shockwaves across Central Kenya. Rival political figures, including former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, seized on the dismal tally to question PNU’s grassroots organizational strength and regional relevance.
Munya’s public defense marks a strategic effort to neutralize escalating attacks from critics who have cited the Nyandarua County outcome as proof of a shifting political landscape in the Mount Kenya region.
Despite intense scrutiny, PNU leadership maintains that granting an underfunded candidate a platform was a conscious decision to foster young political talent rather than a true test of the party’s electoral machinery.
Also Read: ‘I will NEVER back him’: Munya deals crushing blow to Gachagua’s 2027 presidential hopes